Shear

Shear failure occurs near a support when two sections of a material slide in parallel but opposite directions along a fracture.

Analysis

RedSpec™ finds design shear at a point equal to the member depth away from a support, along the member axis if it is sloped, with the following exceptions: (1) I-joist design shear at end bearings is calculated at the end of the span, not member-depth away; (2) design shear is calculated at a point load if the point load is within member-depth of a support.

Section 4.2 of ESR-2994 outlines permitted adjustments to design and allowable shear that are advantageous for certain I-joist configurations. These adjustments are not implemented in RedSpec.

The preceding discussion does not apply to open-web trusses. The truss analysis engine considers all loads, and selects web sizes as required to resist shear.